Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's address at the meeting of the United Russia Party General Council Commission on International Cooperation and Support for Compatriots Abroad, Perm, May 29, 2025
29 May 2025 14:47
909-29-05-2025
Mr Yakushev,
Mr Makhonin, Mr Klimov,
Colleagues,
Friends,
Before we start discussing issues on our agenda, I would like to congratulate the participants on the 10th meeting of the Commission.
Since its establishment, the Commission has accumulated a wealth of experience, and it can be said with confidence that its operations in accordance with President Vladimir Putin's instructions are promoting the coordination of actions by the Foreign Ministry and other foreign policy agencies, as well as party and parliamentary diplomacy, in the interests of protecting and strengthening Russia's positions on the international stage.
It is important that not only representatives of United Russia but also other national political forces are taking part in this work. I see this as proof of social consensus regarding the foreign policy formulated by our President.
Our agenda today is focused on promoting the international and foreign economic ties of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It is hardly worth speaking in detail about the role of interregional and border cooperation in the development of Russia's relations with our foreign partners. It is a vital combination of friendship, cooperation and mutual benefit at the level of regional organisations. Therefore, it is not surprising that encouraging closer interregional and border cooperation is a priority of the Foreign Ministry and the diplomatic service in general.
I would like to emphasise that our regions have reacted to changes in the geopolitical situation and quickly redirected the bulk of their external ties towards reliable partners, primarily former Soviet republics.
A graphic example is the active development of interregional cooperation with our Belarusian friends, which is given a powerful impetus at the annual Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus. The strengthening of interregional interaction with the Republic of Belarus and other EAEU member states is a vital part of our common efforts to boost Eurasian integration processes.
Our great neighbour, China, is playing a major role in the group of Global South and East countries. We also welcome the dynamic development of relations between Russian regions and their partners in India, Vietnam, Türkiye, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Argentina and many other countries of the Global Majority. The heads of concerned Russian regions have joined in the activities of bilateral intergovernmental commissions and the implementation of promising joint projects. A recent positive example is the construction of a motor bridge across the Tumannaya River on the Russian-Chinese border, which was launched in April 2025.
Major international forums held in Russian regions offer a venue for strengthening interregional cooperation. I will name some of them.
The INNOPROM international industrial exhibition, which is annually held in Yekaterinburg, attracts dozens of foreign delegations. Major agreements are signed on its sidelines in the areas of trade, the economy, education, science and culture.
The 2nd International Forum MTC North-South: New Horizons was held in Astrakhan in November 2024.
The 16th International Economic Forum Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum was held in May 2025, and the Caucasus Investment Forum has ended the other day in Mineralnye Vody.
In April 2025, Tashkent hosted the first Forum of Regions of the CIS Member States. We hope that it will become a regular event.
Participation in the specialised BRICS mechanisms offers broad opportunities for realising the regions' foreign economic potential.
A constituent assembly of the BRICS+ Association of Cities and Municipalities was held in Kazan during Russia's BRICS Chairmanship. Nizhny Novgorod hosted the Forum of BRICS Sister Cities and Municipalities, and the 6th International Municipal BRICS+ Forum in Moscow was attended by delegates from the group's countries, their partners and other guests invited to the forum's various events.
Profiting by this occasion, I would like to note that, in principle, we have never refused to engage in dialogue with countries ruled by unfriendly governments, including at the regional and municipal levels. To quote President of Russia Vladimir Putin, there are no unfriendly peoples for us. If their governments come to their senses and admit the failure of their aggressive and revanchist policy towards Russia, failure that is now clear to everyone, then they are welcome to approach us. We will look at what they come in with and decide on our response, taking into account the history of our relations with them over the past 30 years, including the results of their compliance tests. Unlike many Western governments, we never cancel anyone or anything. We are always ready to work with them, including within the framework of ties between regions, but this should be an honest work across the board, one that lacks the politicisation or lecturing and is based on equality, good-neighbourliness and mutual benefit. And, of course, they should renounce any actions designed to cause damage to the Russian Federation.
The Foreign Ministry of Russia has sufficient powers and the necessary capabilities to render effective assistance to the regions as they promote their international agendas. The 20-year-old Council of the Heads of Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains an important and highly relevant venue for discussing a broad range of inter-regional cooperation issues - from country aspects to agrarian diplomacy and collaboration with compatriots abroad. Our meetings result in approving recommendations, which we report to the President and the Prime Minister.
The Russian regions also use the Foreign Ministry platform to showcase their economic, investment, expert, and tourism potentials, with these presentations attended by the Foreign Minister and his deputies as well as by invited representatives of the diplomatic corps, government authorities, business circles, media, and public at large. Earlier this year, the Vologda and Kaluga regions organised presentations of this kind. The Republic of Dagestan's presentation is scheduled for June. Today, I talked to Governor Dmitry Makhonin and we agreed that the Perm Territory would also prepare a similar event. We will do whatever we can to help them organise it.
Our missions abroad and in the Russian regions have been proactive in fulfilling their mandate by helping regions hold international events and find new trade partners. They have been offering diplomatic, consular support, advice and information to the Russian regions in their foreign contacts. Sharing our expertise and assisting regions which have suffered the most from the collective West's hostile actions is an utmost priority for us.
I am certain that we are headed in the right direction, but we cannot be complacent. This is true for any human undertaking. In particular, we believe that regional chambers of commerce and industry must live up to their potential. Holding more business missions for signing deals with foreign partners could held expand region-to-region ties even more. There is a lot of potential in terms of promoting Russian high-technology products on foreign markets. We support efforts to establish direct cooperation ties and set up joint ventures.
In addition, I wanted to say that we know from our experience that creating technology parks, industrial zones, and holding more exhibitions and fairs - all these measures help make our regions more attractive on the international stage. Online formats have become increasingly popular and relevant, including using the latest technology for holding the Days of the Russian Regions. The Foreign Ministry and its regional offices are ready to contribute to all these efforts and to accompany these undertakings.
I would like to stress the importance of combining our efforts to help Crimea, Sevastopol, the DPR, the LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions develop their foreign ties by enabling them to join various international projects. We must focus on essential matters while the ways in which they engage in this activity may vary.
We believe that no one should impose any inadequate frameworks on the regions in their international relations. The way they organise these efforts must be organic and relevant. Excessive patronage and micromanagement are counterproductive. Senior regional officials and local businesses know better than anyone else what they need to promote cooperation with their foreign partners. This is why they, I mean those who represent their regions, must be the ones who define ways to achieve their objectives. The Foreign Ministry will do everything to facilitate these efforts from its headquarters. Of course, all these initiatives must comply with our single foreign policy as approved by the President of the Russian Federation. I have no doubt that this will be the case in the future, just as it is today.
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